Ayurveda Living

Lakshmi is for all due reasons one of the most attractive deities, if not the most, of the Hindu Pantheon.  She is the embodiment of beauty, wealth and good fortune.  Every living person on earth would want to be in Her good grace - if they only knew about Her.  She is the consort of Vishnu the Preserver and she has understably  access to all the “goodies”.  She had many reincarnations, namely as Sita and Radha, as she accompanied the many reincarnations of Vishnu.  Under her 8 forms, she presides over 8 kinds of wealth.  So you can rely on Her for all your wants and needs.

Lakshmi is depicted as a beautiful young lady wearing nice garments and rich jevels.  She is associated with the lotus, symbol of spiritual awakening, which  – rooted in the mud - blossoms over the water every morning at sunrise.  Its wax coating acts a shield against impurities.  Lakshmi’s four arms represent the four goals of life: kama (sensual enjoyment), artha (wealth), dharma (righteousness) and moksha (salvation).

Lakshmi is the center of Diwali celebrations. Diwali, the Festival of Lights, is the Hindu New Year and it coincides with the New Moon of the month of  …  at no fixed date in October or November.  Hindus decorate their homes with small oil lamps (deyas) with the hope that Lakshmi will visit them and bestow them Her many blessings.  Lakshmi provide a wide range of material and mostly spiritual favors.  Peace and prosperity are granted to the worshipper.  Lakshmi resides only in tidy dwellings and prefers the company of hard-working people.  She is believed not too remain very long with people only interested in material gains.

Lakshmi is a tremendous force appearing under many forms.  She is also Devi, the Divine Mother, the Shakti, power,  the feminine energy within us and present in the Universe, also called kundalini.  She is also the embodiment of love (bhakti) that flows from the heart and enables the soul (atma) to reach the Infinite.

More important than understanding Lakshmi is to be with her and feel Her energies within us.